Build our own Wood Garage Door?

9 years ago

Our detached workshop has an ugly old 16' x 7' wood garage door that opens out. The bottom rail has begun to buckle. Hubby wants to weld on a new rail and replace the face of the door. We live in the high desert area of southern California so our summers are hot and dry. We were thinking of using tongue and groove pine with a stained finish. We like these examples of DIY doors that we found on google:

I love the door with the windows but my husband isn't sold on them. If we added windows, we would probably need some plans that show how to install those. We are on a tight budget. Were the doors in the photos made with tongue and groove fence boards? Do they have the same framework in the inside of the door as on the outside (with the tongue and groove boards sandwiched in between?) The wood that Home Depot sells is usually wet. I wonder if it would shrink a lot and if that would be a problem. Does anyone have any thoughts on the best type of wood to use or where to buy plans?

Also, I noticed that the doors in the photos don't have any handles or latches on the outside. This is a nice clean look but how would one open or lock the door without these?

Thank you.

Featured Answer

kendog2
Original Author

9 years ago

Thank you very much, Rwiegand. We may have to drive almost an hour away to find a real lumber yard but I will check out what's available. Redwood seems to be more available in our area than cedar. Is redwood of a similar weight to cedar? We're not experienced woodworkers but we do have a decent Rigid table saw and a very nice Makita miter saw.

We plan to do a stained finish. I'm not sure what you mean about setting the glass from the other side when using a natural wood finish. I assume you would still cut a rabbet on the outside. Do you mean that you would put the clear silicone caulk on the glass where it will touch the frame, then press it into place and add the quarter round? When painting, you would set the glass in place and put the glazier's putty on the outside of the glass, then add the quarter round?

I was hoping to buy a complete set of plans but haven't been able to find anything.

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Comments (6)

randy427
9 years ago
I built a garage door using half lap joints in the frame and then cut dados for the plywood panels. You could cut rabbets into the backside of your T&G boards to use those instead of the plywood. I cut rabbets for the glass panes, securing them with 1/4 round on the inside.
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toxcrusadr
9 years ago
Or, if it's very dry out there, buy the T&G and stack it with 1x1 sticks spaced every 2 ft. and let it dry a couple months. Pine dries quickly. Add some serious weight to the top - concrete blocks, etc. Look up 'drying lumber' or 'stickering' and you'll see.
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kendog2
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you Randy, for sharing your techniques. Did you use glass or plexiglass? I wondered if window glass would be too fragile.

Toxcrusadr, thank you for the suggestion of drying the wood. I will look that up. It is extremely dry here. Rust, mildew, humidity & mosqutoes are pretty much non-existent. I'm sure that drying the wood would be the best plan. The problem is that the door is trying to fold in half at the bottom so we probably need to fix it sooner rather than later. Maybe we can fix the metal part and leave the old plywood on while the new wood is drying. Sure wish it was still summer...the wood might dry in less than a month.
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rwiegand
9 years ago
Go to a real lumber yard and buy wood that has been kiln dried. It's far less irritating than what you will find at the Borg. Cedar is a good compromise for cost, rot resistance, and weight, plus it looks good. For your windows you cut a rabbet in the frame on the outside, set the glass in place and seal it with glazier's putty if you're going to paint it. For a natural wood finish I'd set the glass from the other side and bed it with clear silicone caulk, then quarter round. I'd make the frames with mortise and tenon joints, though a half-lap would probably work if you pegged the joints, it will not be nearly as strong.
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toxcrusadr
6 years ago
This had a new Like on it so I came back to see about this thread. I should have said originally that lumber from big box stores is kiln dried too, the operative term being 'dry'. There are standards for lumber moisture content that the mills are supposed to meet. In fact builders like their pine 2x4s rather wet because they are soft. They don't split when nailed and can be bent into place a bit if not straight. Building with reclaimed or old dry lumber is actually a bit harder according to carpenters I know.

Obviously tongue and groove material has to be a tad more dry than that. :-D

The only way to really know the moisture content of any particular piece of wood is to hit it with a moisture meter. Wood will of course equalize with its environment - and depending on where it came from and where it's being used, it may go up or down.

Interesting stuff about moisture content from the perspective of builders:

https://www.wagnermeters.com/moisture-meters/wood-info/acceptable-moisture-levels-wood/